


College is Hard, Relationships are Harder

by bennyandthevamps



Category: Supernatural
Genre: College AU, M/M, Multiple Perspectives, coffee shop AU, lots of short chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 13:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 6,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5207504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bennyandthevamps/pseuds/bennyandthevamps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam, Dean, Gabriel, and Castiel are all students at Columbia University in New York.  At a school of almost 30,000 students you’d think their paths would never cross, but two sets of brothers, a coffee shop, and an apartment building later has Cupid, and the boys, thinking otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“C’mon, you can do it, starting is the hardest part.” Gabriel sat down at the small café table where Sam was leaning over his computer.  He had worked at the coffee shop for a couple years now, something to help pay the bills while he was finishing his five-year program at Columbia.  College didn’t come cheap, and neither did living in New York, but Gabe had learned to like the shop, especially now that he had a favorite customer. 

Sam Winchester came to get coffee and study at least four times a week.  When he walked in that first day Gabe was smitten, and he made it his mission to figure out as much as he could about tall, dark, and handsome who had just walked in.

Sam on the other hand just wanted a better place to study.  He had to live in the dorms his freshman year, and his brother Dean blasted music nonstop at his apartment, so Sam had to find a new place that wasn’t obnoxiously full or eerily quiet to stake his claim.

The coffee shop was a few blocks off campus and wasn’t too full or busy, so Sam decided to give it a try.  When he walked in the air was warm and smelled like the freshly ground coffee beans.  Sam could tell this was no Starbucks, and every flavor the shop used filled the air. There were hints of chocolate and caramel, and even something a bitt nutty that made Sam immediately fall in love. He hadn’t looked for a new spot since.

“Alright, how does this sound,” Sam rattled off the beginning of his essay to Gabe who was watching him and listening intently over a big mug of what looked like more whipped cream than hot chocolate. It was early December, and not only did that mean cold, but it also meant it was the week before final exams.

Sam paused and looked over to Gabe. “Sounds great, I’ve always told you you’re a great writer,” Gabe started, “it’ll do you good in law school, did you know that most cases don’t even make it to court?  Seems a bit boring if you ask me, maybe you should travel the world with me instead,” Gabe finished his sentence with a wink and Sam rolled his eyes.

“You know Gabe, you’re lucky I met you this year because if you had told me this time last year that I’d be putting up with someone like you I’d have laughed my ass off.”

“Someone like me,” Gabe gasped putting his hand over his heart, “I’m going to take that as a compliment and pretend that you didn’t just break my heart.”

Sam laughed and rolled his eyes, “Whatever works for you Gabe.”

Gabe chuckled and stood up, grabbing his mug, “Then I guess it really is lucky I met you this year!  Who knows, maybe it’ll be my lucky year,” he said, lifting the mug in a mock toast and raising his eyebrows.  Gabe headed back to the kitchen with the mug and put his apron back on.  Break time was over, and now he had to be ‘Gabe the café employee’ instead of ‘Gabe the hopeless romantic who had fallen for a guy he still knew next to nothing about’ which in reality was pretty much the same thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean leaned over the hood of his car and sighed. Winter didn’t do Baby any good, and frankly it didn’t do Dean any good either.  This was his final year at Columbia in their engineering program, and he was one of the best at the school.  Sure, it was hard making ends meet at such an expensive place, but it was all worth it when Sammy decided he wanted to go to school there too. 

Plus being in the Big Apple didn’t hurt. Dean loved the nightlife in this city, and it was definitely something he was going to miss when he moved away, no freaking way he was living in Antarctica for the rest of his life…

He opened his car door and hopped in, putting his hands in front of the heating vents to warm them up.  Dean learned his sophomore year that you’d better heat up your car in the winter before getting in or you were screwed.

It was Saturday morning and normally Dean would be heading to the garage down the street to pick up some extra hours, but he had agreed to pick Sam up from his coffee shop and take him grocery shopping instead. Despite the fact that kid lived in a dorm he was determined to eat healthy, which meant a lot of lettuce apparently.

The coffee shop was a five-minute drive from Dean’s apartment, one that he would normally walk, but Sam’s fancy grocery store was fifteen minutes away.  Dean didn’t know where Sam got the money for his rabbit food, but he figured why question it?  As long as he wasn’t asking Dean to front the bill he was fine, although Sam and Dean both knew that he would pay to help out Sam in a heartbeat.

Dean parked in the back lot of the shop and decided he might as well walk in to get Sam so that he could see what was so special about that place anyways.  Dean pushed the door open and looked around.  The walls were painted a dark rust-orange and there were paintings by local artists hanging on every wall.  Each painting was unique, and had a little piece of paper tacked under it with the artist’s name and the name of the painting.

The shop was comfortably warm and felt homey. It wasn’t out of place for New York, but Dean felt like it was a different from the other coffee shops in the area. He could see why Sam liked it, it wasn’t a hipster haven full of obnoxious wannabe writers touting their faux intellectualism, but it also wasn’t some sort of cutesy Starbucks either.

He took a deep breath in and immediately understood why Sam didn’t just like this place, but loved it so much. The air smelled like coffee, sure, but there was a hint of sweetness under the bitter smell of roasted coffee beans, and the freshly baked pastries didn’t hurt either.

Shrugging off his leather jacket, Dean looked around the shop for Sam.  It was bigger on the inside than he thought it would be, and it took him a few seconds to spot Sam, who was sitting at a small table hunched over his computer reading something out loud to a guy Dean didn’t recognize.

Dean scanned the shop once more, catching sight of the most gorgeous blue eyes he’d ever seen.  Of course, blue eyes took that exact moment to look up and look right into Dean’s eyes.  _Shit,_ Dean thought, _this is slightly awkward…_   Blue eyes didn’t look away, and when Dean realized he was the one who started the staring he half smiled and then looked away.

 _Smooth Dean, real smooth, I’m sure blue eyes over there is smitten_ , Dean thought shaking his head and working up a small sweat in the now too-warm coffee shop.

“Then I guess it’s my lucky year,” the stranger said to Sam as Dean approached their table.  The man gave Sam a mock toast and then headed to the back of the shop. _So,_ Dean thought, _the guy works here, huh, go get ‘em Sammy…_

Dean saw Sam’s gaze follow the man to the door and took that opportunity to sneak up on him.  “Well,” Dean said, clapping his hand down on Sam’s shoulder. Hard.

“Ow, shit, Dean!”  Sam half-shouted, smacking Dean on the shoulder, “you scared the crap out of me!  Are you ready to go?”

“Oh yeah, yeah, as long as you are,” Dean replied with a smirk, nodding in the direction of Sam’s mystery friend, “who’s your buddy there?”

“Shut up Dean,” Sam replied packing up his things, “he’s a friend and he works here, and that’s all _you_ need to know for now.  Don’t go getting any of your stupid matchmaker ideas.”

Dean held his hands up in surrender and raised his eyebrows, “Hey, I’m just trying to help!  Your _friend_ seemed pretty interested in what you had to say though, you sure it’s nothing more?”

“Like I said before, shut up. Where’s the car?” Sam shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders and they headed to the old Impala, Sam determined to never speak about Gabe to Dean and Dean determined to find out as many details about Sam’s ‘friend’ as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, Sammy, care to share a bit more about that mysterious friend?” Dean dropped the last grocery bag on Sam’s bed and turned to his brother, who was trying to fit a bag of baby carrots in his mini-fridge. Dean didn’t really understand why Sam couldn’t just eat junk food like every other normal college student, but he didn’t bother asking about it. If Sam wanted to eat like a rabbit in college kid’s clothing that was his choice.

Sam sighed and stood up, “Not really, but you’re not gonna let this one go are you?”

“Not a chance,” Dean winked and hopped onto Sam’s bed, “now, tell me all about Mr. Sweet Tooth from the coffee shop.”

“I thought we agreed on no chick flick moments,” Sam said, grabbing the rest of his small hoard of groceries and putting them away. He’d gotten very good at making space for every random little thing in his room, and everything had its place.

“We did, but this is less of a chick flick moment and more of a, ‘you were shamelessly flirting at a coffee shop with a dude and I haven’t seen you that happy in, well, ever so I’ve gotta get to the bottom of this,’ moment.” Sam chuckled and shook his head, looking over to where his brother was waiting expectantly on his bed.

“All right, all right, you win,” Sam sighed, turning to Dean and dropping into his desk chair, “His name is Gabriel, I call him Gabe for short, and he works at the coffee shop. He’s been working there since the first day I went in, and well, I fell in love with the coffee shop first, but it seems like Gabe isn’t so far behind…” Sam’s thoughts trailed off and he looked away from his brother, standing again to busy himself with a box of granola bars.

“Love?” Dean asked, with an unbelieving tone to his voice, “I dunno Sammy, love doesn’t just fall from trees, or in this case coffee shops.”

“I know Dean, it’s stupid; I don’t know if it’s ‘love’ per se, just, I don’t know, a strong attraction? I haven’t felt this happy with someone in a long time. I mean, I really feel like me and Gabe can just talk, and have no problems, and sure he’s kind of a sarcastic ass sometimes, but that’s one of the things I really like about him, you know? I don’t know,” Sam said with a groan, flopping facedown onto his bed next to Dean, “I mean, what even is love anyways Dean?”

“Hey, don’t look at me Socrates,” Dean said shrugging, “I’ve been afraid of commitment since day one, so I’m not much of a help here.”

“Great, thanks Dean, your vote of confidence is overwhelming.”

“Well, it sounds like the guy makes you happy, and it looked like he made you happy too, so why rush it? Why don’t you two try going out on a date or something and see how that goes? Just make sure that he knows your boundaries, okay? I don’t wanna have to deal with another asshole who can’t handle the fact that you’re demisexual.”

“Yeah, you’re right, thanks Dean,” Sam said, rolling onto his back to look up at his brother, “I think Gabe’ll understand, he was telling me the other day about his brother who’s ace, so I think he’ll get it.”

“Good, now go and call him or something,” Dean said, patting Sam on the chest, “you do have his phone number right?”

Sam groaned and covered his face with his hand.

“Really Sammy, no phone number?” Dean smacked his brother on the arm and shook his head, “We’ve really gotta get you some pick-up skills.”

Sam groaned again and made a mental note, phone number Sam, how could you forget his damn phone number??? Sam rolled off his bed and shooed Dean out of his room, and with that they both got what they wanted. Dean got his information, the nosy bastard, Sam thought, and Sam his plan, now all he had to do was actually enact that plan…


	4. Chapter 4

Gabe folded his apron and closed the shop for the night.  He noticed that someone was still in the coffee shop and wandered over to their table. Cas.  Of course.  “Hey there Cassie, you takin’ me home?”

Castiel sighed and looked up at his slightly older brother, “I’ve told you not to call me that, and yes I am here to take you home. I don’t like when you walk alone in the cold like this, especially when it’s dark.  I know that you have the tendency to stray and I don’t want to wake up one night to find out that you’ve frozen to death because you lost your key.” Castiel closed the book he was reading and stood up, facing Gabriel.

The two had been inseparable since their parents’ unfortunate and untimely end many years ago.  They were bounced around in the foster system until Gabriel turned eighteen, and then they stuck together for college, something they’d planned on doing since they were very young.

“Hey, I’ve become much more responsible over the years!”  Gabe said, with mock offense, “I even remember to do the dishes every once and a while!”

“Very funny Gabriel, but in all seriousness we should get going, I’ve got papers to write and I shouldn’t be wasting any more time.”

“All right, let me just grab my coat and then we can go.”  Gabe said, walking to the back of the coffee shop.  Castiel stood to wait for him, thinking for a moment about the strange interaction he had earlier.  The bright green eyes flashed in his mind again, but he shook his head.  _No use thinking about someone you’ll never see again,_ he thought.

Gabe returned with his coat and a random assortment of leftover pastries from the back, and then the two were on their way out.

It was a cold night and Castiel wrapped himself tightly in his scarf to keep from shivering.  Gabe looked unnerved by the cold, lost in thought with a dreamy look on his face. Castiel had an idea what he was thinking about.

“So,” Castiel started, “I saw you with that boy again today…are you interested in him?"

“Always one with words Cas,” Gabe said, shaking his head, “you know, for somebody with their nose stuck in a book all the time I’d imagine you to be a better speaker, but at any rate…yeah.  His name’s Sam, and he’s smart, brilliant really, and funny, and great to be around, and I think I’ve got more than a little crush on him.”

“Well, that’s nice Gabe, have you told him about yourself at all?” Cas said with a smile.

“Oh tons!” Gabe said, waving his hands enthusiastically, “I’ve talked about what I’m doing here and what I want to do with my life and how I want to travel, I’ve even talked about you Cas!”

Castiel rolled his eyes and turned toward Gabriel again.  “Gabriel, in all seriousness, what do you mean to do about this situation with this guy? I mean, you’ve never been one for commitment, not since Kali at least, but well, this seems…different.”

Gabe looked back at Castiel and slowed his pace, “What do you mean different Cas?”

Cas looked Gabe in the eye and thought for a moment before he spoke.

“Well, when you talk about him you get that little glimmer in your eye again, one that I haven’t seen in quite a while, and you spend so much time with him, and I can tell when you’re thinking about him, you get this sort of, far-off look and can’t really concentrate on anything else.”

“I think you’ve been reading one too many romance novels there Cas,” Gabriel said, trying to cover up the hint of embarrassment that he could feel showing through his sarcastic demeanor. _Cas can really tell I like this guy,_ he thought tightening his coat against a sudden gust of wind.

“I’m serious Gabe, he seems to be having a different sort of connection with you, different than the usual random hook ups that you seem to go through so quickly.”  Cas took a step back to gauge Gabriel’s reaction.  They had stopped on the sidewalk, Cas didn’t know when, but this was obviously something his brother was taking more seriously than usual.

“Why don’t you try taking him out on a date? Do you have his phone number?”

Gabriel turned to look at Cas with a small amount of panic on his face.  “Shit,” he hissed, smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand, “his phone number! Who doesn’t get somebody’s phone number after knowing them for two fucking months?”

Gabe started walking away from Cas quickly, clearly embarrassed by his stupid mistake.

“So I will take that as a no then,” Castiel said, quickly catching up to Gabe’s pace.  “That should be your next task if you’re even semi-serious about this Sam,” Cas continued, starting up the stairs to their apartment and pulling the keys to their door out of his pocket, “get his phone number and take him on a date, okay?”

“Yeah, good idea Cas,” Gabe said, regaining his far-off look, “I think you might be right about him.  He is…different, but in a good way.  I’m sure I’ll see him soon, finals are coming up and with the way that kid studies during the normal semester I’m sure he’ll be at the coffee shop doing ridiculous amounts of studying during finals week.”

“That sounds like a good plan Gabriel, now, if you want to stay in the cold all night and think about Sam be my guest, but it’s freezing out here and I highly suggest going against that notion.”

Gabe chuckled and pushed Cas out of the doorframe, “I’ll pass on the self-torture and get myself inside instead, but thanks,” Gabe said, patting Cas on the shoulder and walking into the small apartment.

Cas smiled to himself and turned around to pull the key out of the door.  _Hopefully this would work out for Gabriel_ , Cas thought, _I’m not sure he can handle more heartbreak…_

When he looked up he saw someone opening an apartment door across the way.  The other man looked over to where Castiel was staring and their eyes met. Again.  It was the man with the brilliant green eyes from earlier. The man smiled and gave a quick wave before turning and walking into his home.  Castiel stayed rooted in his spot for another moment before heading inside.  It seemed like he had his own little crush forming on that strange man with evergreen eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Finals came and went and Sam was still no closer to asking Gabe out on a date.

He had finally gotten Gabe’s phone number, but then he chickened out a few times, and then was way to busy with finals (just another bullshit excuse is what Dean called that), and then before he knew it, winter break had started and he was driving with Dean back to Lawrence to visit their dad.

“What if while I’m gone he decides that I wasn’t so great anyways, I mean, we don’t even know if he liked me at all in the first place, we’re just going on assumptions here,” Sam said from the passenger side of Dean’s car.  They had been driving for ten hours already and Sam’s mind had been on Gabe the whole time.

“All right puppy love, slow your roller,” Dean said, rolling his eyes at Sam for what had to have been the hundredth time that day, “Sure you don’t know if he likes you or not, but who cares?  Honestly, you have this giant crush on him, you text him all the time, where’s all of your panic coming from?  A short break might do you some good, ya know, distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that crap.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Sam said, sighing.  When he gets back to New York he’s going to ask Gabe out.  That’s it.  End of story.  _I’m gonna do it,_ Sam thought, _there’s no reason for me to force myself to be unhappy._


	6. Chapter 6

Gabe still hadn’t asked Sam out yet. Sam asked him for his phone number before finals, and they’d been texting, and it was so fun and great, Sam was even kinder and funnier than Gabe thought.  But he just kept chickening out.

“I can’t do it Cas,” Gabe said exasperatedly as he thumbed through a textbook.  He was draped over the couch in his and Cas’s apartment.  It had never looked so bleak.  The gray walls and muted furniture had never bothered him before, but something about the lack of decoration and color made Gabe even more upset now than he was in the first place.

“Are you talking about passing your class?” Cas asked from his armchair on the opposite side of the room, not bothering to look up from his book.  “Because that’s never given you troubles before and I don’t see why it would trouble you now. Besides, you haven’t even started that course yet, give it some time and I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

It was winter break and Castiel and Gabe were in their apartment.  They never had anywhere to go for break so they just stayed in New York, laid low while everyone from school was away.  Gabe had even picked up some extra shifts at the coffee shop to try and keep his mind off Sam.

Gabe sighed again and put the book down. “You could not be farther off the mark with that one Cas,” he replied.

“Oh,” Castiel looked up from the book he was reading and tilted his head, “What’s troubling you then?”

“You know Cas, for someone so smart you’re not very intuitive, but that’s all right, I guess emotions aren’t everyone’s forte.”

Castiel furrowed his brow in confusion and tried again. “So, an emotional problem…would this have something to do with the fact that you are here and Sam is somewhere driving through the Midwest?”

“Bingo Cas!  You got me!”  Gabe groaned and ran his hands through his hair.  “I bet when he gets back to Lawrence he’s going to meet some beautiful girl and fall head over heels in love with her and I’m just gonna be left in the dust. I mean, who knows if he really even likes me anyways…”

“Well, seeing that you just told me I’m not good at emotional situations I don’t see why you’d be seeking my advice for this issue, but at any rate, I think he must be interested in you in some way, don’t you think?  I mean, you two text almost every day.”

Gabe groaned again, exasperated by the doubts his own mind had caused.

“You’re right Cas, geez, you’re the younger brother, aren’t I supposed to be the one giving out all the advice here?”

Castiel laughed and replied, “You’ve always been more young at heart Gabriel.”


	7. Chapter 7

_Don’t panic.  Don’t panic.  It’ll work out.  There’s nothing for you to worry about.  It’ll be okay._

Sam repeated that mantra to himself the whole walk to the coffee shop.  This is it.  Today is going to be the day that Sam asks Gabe out on a date.

They had texted all of winter break.  Dean was sure that Gabe was smitten with Sam, still is, but Sam has his doubts.  He’s forcing Dean to stay in the coffee shop while he asks Gabe just in case it all backfires and Sam needs rescuing.  Or backup.

_Oh God, why am I doing this?  Why did I wait so long?  Why is Gabe so amazing?  I hope this turns out okay…_

Sam and Dean approached the door to the coffee shop.

“You’ve got this Sammy.  Worst comes to worst he rejects you and I’ll take him out back and set him straight,” Dean said, leaning on the wall next to the door.

Sam rolled his eyes.  “Thanks Dean, that’ll win him over for sure.”

“Any time,” Dean said with a laugh, and then he reached for the door and held it open, motioning for Sam to go inside.

Sam took a deep breath.  _You can do this.  You’ve got this.  Dean’s going to sit right in that corner over there.  Everything will turn out fine._


	8. Chapter 8

“Holy fuck Cas, here we go.  Today is the day.  I’m gonna do it.  I’m gonna ask Sam out on a date.”  Gabe was pacing the floor in their apartment before heading to work that day.  He was determined to make today the day that he asked Sam out.  He wasn’t gonna make anymore excuses.  He’s going to let himself be happy.

“That’s great Gabriel, I’m happy for you,” Cas said, packing up his things.  He was going to the coffee shop too.  Gabriel would never say it, but Cas could tell that Gabe wanted him there.  “Now, let’s get going, don’t want you to be late to work.”

“Right, work, that’s where I’m going, the workplace, the establishment in which I work where I also just so happened to meet the greatest guy in the universe.  Right.”  Gabe grabbed his jacket and reached for the door.  _I can do this.  Holy fuck.  I can do this._


	9. Chapter 9

Dean sat in the corner of the coffee shop. He was trying not to stare at his brother, make it too obvious that something was up, but he just couldn’t help but keep an eye on him as Sam made his way up to the counter.

Gabe looked a little fidgety from what Dean could tell, and when he and Sam saw each other Gabe immediately went to the back. _Must be taking his break,_ Dean thought.

Sam had been gushing over Gabe all of winter break. Well, minus the days when their dad was around.  Dean had never been good at the whole relationship have a crush on someone thing, so he didn’t really get Sam’s puppy love, but if it made Sammy happy it made Dean happy too.

Gabe returned from the back and motioned to Sam. They went to a table in the opposite corner of the shop, and that was when Dean lost sight of them.

_Well, here it goes Sammy, good luck little brother._

Dean pulled a book out of his jacket pocket and started to read.  May as well be entertained while he was waiting for Sam’s chick flick to play out.

“ _The Sirens of Titan,_ ” a voice said from above Dean’s head.  When he looked up, blue eyes was standing over him, his own book in tow.

“Uh, yeah, I’ve always been a Vonnegut fan,” Dean said, turning the book in his hands and looking down, “Not one for the whole pseudo-intellectual crowd though, I just really like his stories. Sometimes I don’t really get the whole book, but I guess that’s why I like them.”

Dean shrugged and looked back up at the other man. His hair was disheveled and dark, and he was wearing an oversized Columbia sweatshirt and a dark pair of jeans. The pale blue from the sweatshirt made his eyes stand out even more.

“Do you mind if I sit?”  The man asked, motioning toward the empty seat across from Dean, “You happened to pick my favorite table in the shop.”

Dean smiled and nodded his head. “It’s your lucky day, you get your favorite table and some company.”

The man laughed and Dean realized just how deep his voice was.  Maybe he could start to understand this whole puppy love thing…

“My name’s Castiel by the way,” he said, sitting down across from Dean and extending a hand.

“I’m Dean, Dean Winchester.”  They shook hands across the table and Dean chuckled at the formality.


	10. Chapter 10

“Hey Gabe,” Sam said cheerily as he tried not to panic.  He approached the counter with what he hoped was a calm demeanor, but Gabe looked nervous for some reason.

“Hiya Sam, let me, uh, let me just hang up my apron really quick and I’ll go on my break!” Gabe replied, playing with the knot on the back of his black apron.

Before Sam could reply Gabe raced to the back of the shop.

 _Oh my God.  Oh my fucking God here we go.  I didn’t even ask him if he wanted something to drink,_ Gabe thought to himself as he hung up his apron.  _He’s gonna think I’m a jerk now, just fantastic.  Maybe I should bring him what he usually orders, would that be weird?_

Gabe found himself pacing next to the coat hangers on the wall where he had just hung his apron before snapping out of it.


	11. Chapter 11

_There he goes,_ Sam thought as Gabe went to the back, _and here this goes I guess.  Wow, this is actually going to happen.  Well, sort of happen…at least my conscience will be clear after he rejects me…_

Sam played with the zipper on his sweat jacket while he waited for Gabe to return.

 _Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, right?_ Sam thought to himself as he and Gabe walked over to a table in the corner.


	12. Chapter 12

“So, uh, how’s your day been?”  Sam asked when the pair sat down.  Neither of them had grabbed something to drink, so now they were both just awkwardly fidgeting with things on the table, Sam a napkin and Gabe a spoon, at a loss for what to do with their hands.

“Oh, it-it’s been good, not too busy, ya know, pretty boring till you got here,” Gabe said with a hopeful chuckle.

He looked up at Sam and decided that this was as good a moment as ever.


	13. Chapter 13

_That was a stupid question Sam,_ Sam thought to himself, _‘how’s your day been?’ what are we, an old married couple?_

Gabe was turning a spoon in his hands, looking intently at it like it was the most important thing in the universe when he answered, “Oh, it-it’s been good, not too busy, ya know, pretty boring till you got here.”

_Boring?  Till I got here?  What does that mean?_

Sam stopped ripping his napkin into little pieces long enough to lock eyes with Gabe.

_Well, I guess now would be the time to get this over with…_


	14. Chapter 14

“Sam I-”

“Gabe there’s-”

The two started talking at once, awkwardly unsure of what to do.

“I-uh-you go ahead Sam, I’m sure what you’ve got to say is more important,” Gabe said.

“No, no, you go first Gabe.”

“No really Sam it’s fine, what’s up?”

“It’s really nothing you go ahead.”

The pair played sentence chicken for a few minutes before they both stopped.  There was an awkward silent beat between them, and then-

“Sam do you wanna go on a date with me?”

“Gabe I think we should go out sometime.”

They blurted in unison.

Sam turned bright red and Gabe dropped the spoon with a loud clatter.

“You, uh, you want to go on a date with me?”  Sam asked, in shock.

“Of course I do!  I’ve had the biggest crush on you since you walked into this damn shop, but I thought for sure you were gonna say no to me!”  Gabe replied, smiling wide.

“What!  That’s ridiculous, Gabe you’re amazing!  Why would I ever say no to you?”

“Well it looks like we’ve been a couple of lovesick idiots this whole time then…”

“Seems like it,” Sam said with a laugh.  They were both grinning from ear to ear shocked by their own denial.

“So, uh, the date thing?”  Gabe asked, returning to the point of the conversation.

“Right! Right, um, how about Friday?  There’s a new ice cream shop opening down the street where you get to make your own sundaes, and I know you love sweets, so, uh, we could go there and then go for a walk?”

Sam wasn’t sure if the idea was too cheesy, but he loved parks and Gabe loved ice cream, so it was worth a shot.

“Sounds like heaven,” Gabe replied.


	15. Chapter 15

“‘So it goes’ is by far my favorite quote,” Dean said to Castiel, emphatically slamming his hands on the table.

Cas laughed at his enthusiasm and then countered with his own, “I love ‘Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; man got to sit and wonder ‘why, why, why?’  Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; man got to tell himself he understand.’”

“You like the poetic stuff then, huh,” Dean said, smirking at Castiel.  Their books had been pushed to a corner of the table and they were enthusiastically discussing their favorite Vonnegut stories.

Dean was impressed by how much Cas knew about literature. Sure, he hadn’t seen a movie in theaters in the last five years, but this guy really knew his way around books.

Cas laughed and responded; “Concise poetry can be better than a five hundred page book if you do it right. As Isaac Babel once said, ‘No steel can pierce the human heart so chillingly as a period at the right moment.’”

“I have no clue who that is, but damn straight! You’re a pretty smart guy Cas, hope you don’t mind me calling you that by the way, Castiel is a cool name, but kinda a mouthful.”

“It’s not a problem Dean, and thank you, English and writing have always been a huge passion of mine, so I make it a point to be as well versed in that as I can,” Cas replied.

Dean gave Cas an impressed shrug, “Very mission oriented, I can appreciate that.”

Cas opened his mouth to speak when they heard a loud clattering noise from the other side of the shop.

“What the hell was that?”  Dean asked, trying to peer around the counter.

“I’m not sure, it is a coffee shop after all,” Cas replied unfazed.

“Right, just, it sounded like it came from where my brother was sitting, I’m gonna go make sure he’s all good,” Dean said, starting to stand.

“All right.  I’ll come with you, I think your brother is actually one of the regulars here, and it would be nice to finally meet him,” Cas said, starting to the short walk to the other side of the coffee shop with Dean.

When they reached the other side of the shop Sam and Gabe both looked flustered.

“Is that your brother Dean?”  Cas asked, motioning towards Sam.

“Yup, sitting with the guy who works here all the time, I’ll let you in on a little secret, he’s got a huge crush on that guy,” Dean said leaning on the counter trying to be inconspicuous.

“Oh, well that’s fortunate,” Cas replied. Dean responded with a look of confusion and Cas elaborated, “That’s my brother Gabriel, he has feelings for your brother as well.”

“Well holy shit, isn’t it Sammy’s lucky day then!” Dean said, watching Sam and Gabe break out into huge smiles. Dean took that as his cue to walk over to their table, and Cas followed.

“How about Friday?”  Dean could hear Sam say.  “There’s a new ice cream shop opening down the street where you get to make your own sundaes, and I know you love sweets, so, uh, we could go there and then go for a walk?”

“Sounds like heaven,” Gabe replied.

“Well!”  Dean said, slamming his hands on the table and laughing at Gabe and Sam when they jumped.  He could hear Cas chuckling behind him, which made him smile even more.

“Jesus Dean!  What are you doing here?”  Sam asked, with his hand over his heart.

“Just checking on the two love birds, congrats by the way, heard the date plans!”  Dean smiled like a proud parent and Sam shook his head.

“You’re a giant dork Dean,” Sam said, laughing at his older brother.

Gabe laughed and turned to Dean, “I’m Gabriel by the way.  I see you’ve already met my baby brother Cas.”

“I’m not an infant Gabe,” Cas said with slightly downturned lips, “and yes, Dean and I have met.”

Gabe sighed and chuckled at his brother, “I know you’re not an infant Cas.  How do you guys know each other anyway?”

“Well I just so happened to take Cas’s favorite corner while I was waiting for Tweedledee to ask you out, and then we started talking about books,” Dean replied.  
  
“Oh, you found Cas’s favorite subject!  He’s a giant bookworm, congrats on cracking the conversation code on your first try,” Gabe said, grinning at Dean.

“Thanks,” Dean said, feeling a bit proud of himself. Who knew Cas was a hard guy to talk to? “Well, we’ll leave you two alone for now, have fun planning your date,” Dean said with a wink walking away from the table.

“Whatever Dean,” Sam called after him, laughing at his brother.

“I’ll go too,” Cas said, “your brother is a pleasure to talk to Sam.”

“Uh, thanks Cas, nice to finally meet you.”

“You as well, I always see you around the shop, I guess it was about time that we formally met.”  Cas stuck his hand out and Sam took it, shaking hands with Gabe’s brother.

Gabe rolled his eyes at Cas and shooed him away.

“Your brother seems nice Gabe, although a little formal,” Sam said once Cas was out of earshot.

“Right back atcha, and yeah, that’s just how he is,” Gabe replied with a low chuckle.


	16. Chapter 16

Dean and Cas sat back down at their table and resumed their conversation about books.  Cas gave Dean some recommendations and talked to Dean about where he could find Cas in the library, and before they knew it the coffee shop was closing.

“Who’s the lovebirds now,” Gabe said as he approached Dean and Cas.

“Oh shit,” Dean said, checking his watch, “I didn’t even realized how late it was.”

“I guess we lost track of time,” Cas replied, packing up his books.

“I’m gonna go close up the shop,” Gabe said, “Sam’s been working on homework since I finished break, didn’t want to disturb you two.”  Gabe smiled and walked away.

“Well, I guess this is it,” Dean said, rubbing the back of his neck.  He didn’t want to stop talking to Cas, but he knew it would be ridiculous to start showing up at the coffee shop randomly now, Cas would know it was because of him.

“I guess for tonight,” Cas replied, “do you have a cell phone, we can just exchange numbers?”

“Shit,” Dean said laughing, “I didn’t even think of that! Yeah, here you go!”  Dean and Cas exchanged numbers and then went to their brothers.

They all said their goodbyes and then headed out the door.  When they realized they were all going the same direction they stopped.

“Uh, I know this is New York and there’s lots of random apartment buildings out here, but we’ve been walking to the same place for the past five minutes,” Dean said faintly remembering something that had happened months ago, “and didn’t I see you going into a unit across from mine a while back Cas?”

Cas thought for a moment before remembering what Dean was talking about.  “Yes! I remember now, I thought I wouldn’t see you again so I just let that slip from my memory!”  Cas laughed and looked over at Dean.

“Well, looks like we’re all walking to the same place then huh!” Dean said, smiling widely at Cas.

“Looks like it,” Cas replied.

“Well then I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to do something I’ve been wanting to do this whole damn walk,” Gabe said moving next to Sam.  He reached out his hand and grabbed Sam’s, smiling at the surprised look on his face.

“All right,” Gabe said, “now we’re ready to go.” Sam laughed and Gabe leaned into him, smiling even wider than before.

The two started walking again leaving Dean and Cas behind.

“Those two are huge dorks,” Dean said, laughing at the couple.  He was glad they looked so happy.

“It’s good to see my brother happy,” Cas said, “and I’m sure you feel the same about your brother.”

“Yeah,” Dean replied, “I do.  Now, I don’t know about the hand holding, but we’re going to the same place so we might as well walk together,” Dean said, looking over at Cas.

Cas laughed and started walking with Dean, “Maybe not,” he began, “but walking together would be nice.”

They headed down the street after their brothers and talked as they walked to their apartments.  Dean wasn’t sure where any of this was heading, none of them were, but it was nice to have a good conversation with someone while walking in the spring sunlight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
